He added: “Today we will talk about ways to achieve a full and unconditional ceasefire as the first step towards a full-fledged settlement process and achieving a just and sustainable peace.”
Respecting Ukraine’s “territorial integrity” remains a key European demand in talks, according to an Elysée official.
“The goal remains to build a common approach that the United States can present to Russia,” the same official said.
In Berlin, Jürgen Hardt, the foreign policy spokesperson for the Christian Democratic Union, Germany’s major center-right party, said his expectations for the talks in London were “rather low,” but downplayed the significance of them being conducted at official level.
“Russia is showing no willingness for peace, so lifting sanctions is currently out of the question,” he said. “[Russian President Vladimir] Putin needs to be brought to a point where he at least has to consider that his war of aggression against Ukraine might ultimately fail. Hopefully, that will lead him to seek peace in time of his own accord.” Putin, he said, “only understands the language of strength.”
In London, No.10 Downing Street insisted Wednesday lunchtime that the U.S. and U.K. remained on the same page.